Flightless: A Supernatural Story
by PosseMagnet
Summary: Elsie is a relatively normal college student that was celebrating her academic success when suddenly she found herself stuck inside one of her favorite TV shows. Most fans would kill for her spot, but Elsie wants to be anywhere but there. She knows being brought there from the outside couldn't be anything good. Will she be able to conceal the truth? (Rated M to be safe.)
1. Chapter 1: Celebration Gone Wrong

"Happy birthday!" a small group of random clubbers cheered at a girl sitting at a table in a bar. Her face was flushed from embarrassment. The lights were too bright against her pale skin and the scene of the bar was far too loud for her liking.

"Thanks everyone," she replied with a somewhat forced smile. She held out a champagne glass. "Here's to 21 greats years!"

"And here's to many more," and older woman who looked strikingly similar to the girl said, clinking her glass against her daughter's.

"Cheers!" the group echoed and downed their drinks.

"Elsie! Come dance!" one tall girl said with a grin. "And if you still don't want to, drink until you change your mind!" Elsie rolled her eyes. Melissa was her best friend, but she was always a party girl. Parties were something she'd never understand.

"Give me a minute," she replied, turning to her mother. Her mother's eyes crinkled as she smiled and a lonely tear rolled down her cheek. Melissa was already heading out to the dance floor.

"Oh, Elizabeth!" she said, her voice cracking. "21 and getting your bachelors. I'm so proud!"

"Mom, relax," Elsie said as her mother pulled her into a huge hug. "I'm going to go see Melissa before she gets herself into trouble with a guy out there."

Her mother, Nora, nodded and pat her back. "Yeah, you should go do that. It's late, I'm going to head home to make sure your father gets to bed and doesn't stay up all night painting."

Elsie giggled. "Yeah, probably a good idea. You'd think he'd slow down in his old age."

"Old age," Nora said with a roll of her eyes. "He's only 54. That's hardly old age."

"Old age or not, he still shouldn't have the sleeping schedule of a frat boy." Her mother chuckled and gave her a quick squeeze.

"Alright, I'll be going then. Don't be out too late. And be safe! No drunk driving! Call me tomorrow morning?"

"Sure, mom, I'll call. It might be kind of late if Melissa has her way with me." Her mother's tired brown eyes narrowed at this.

"Don't let her," she warned before turning around. "Bye, my dear!"

"Bye mom," Elsie grumbled. Her mother never did approve of Melissa, all tracing back to the weekend she introduced Supernatural to Elsie. She instantly fell in love with the show and marathoned the first two seasons. She watched it religiously ever since. Her mother found the show extremely distasteful, which Elsie never understood. She wasn't religious or anything. Elsie was glad she lived with Melissa; she could watch season 4 in peace when it aired.

"Oh, crap," she muttered under her breath and she searched the crowd for her friend. Melissa had a knack at getting lost in the crowd. She was a trouble magnet, too. She was probably grinding on some creep. Elsie could feel her chest tighten with anxiety.

"Ah!" she exclaimed as someone bumped into her as she stood on her tiptoes to look over the crowd, searching for Melissa's unmistakable blue hair. "Sorry!"

"No, I'm the one that should be sorry," the tall man who bumped into her said. "I wasn't paying close enough attention."

"Well I shouldn't have been standing there like an idiot, so I'm sorry."

"I should have watched where I was going, so _I'm _sorry."

"How about we both be sorry and be done with it?" Elsie said with a nervous smile. Something about this man put shivers down her spine. He seemed nice enough, but his eyes were like cold steel. Something about him looked unnatural.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," he replied. "I'm... James," he said quickly, but Elsie could sense the moment of hesitation.

"Pleasure to meet you," Elsie said politely. "I'm Elsie."

"Elsie," he said thoughtfully. "That's a new one to me. I've heard many names in my time. Is it short for something?"

"Elizabeth."

"Ah, Elizabeth. What a classic name."

"Mhmm. Well, I'm sorry again James, but I have to find my friend. She has a particular talent for getting in trouble when I'm not around to keep her in check." She smiled briefly and walked away from him, but to her dismay, he followed.

"Maybe I could help?"

Elsie paused. "Ummm... Thanks, but I don't think that would be necessary. Have a nice night," she said with a final parting smile and quickly made her way through the crowd of people, her breath caught in her chest. She didn't look back. Luckily, she saw Melissa soon.

"Melissa," she said, exasperated. "There you are!"

"Hey!" Melissa said with a crooked grin. "Drunk enough?"

"No," Elsie sighed. "But I'm ready to go home. Now. Creeper alert."

"Oh, come on!" Melissa pouted. "I just met this awesome guy!" she leaned over and pointed to a dark haired man waiting on a bartender. "His name is Robbie, isn't he cute?"

"Lissa, please," Elsie begged. "I'm serious." She glanced over her shoulder to see James eyeing her from the side of the crowd.

"Well then go home," Melissa whined. "Don't ruin my fun, too." The dark haired man Melissa was with was walking back with two tall drinks in his hands.

"Fine," Elsie muttered. She knew better than to try to get between Melissa and a man she was attracted to. It never worked well. Elsie quickly weaved her way through the crowd and towards the exit, making sure to keep close to thick groups. Her heart was pounding. Something about James terrified her. She threw the door open and began to fast walk down to the parking lot.

"Going somewhere?" a deep voice asked as she felt a hand on her arm. Elsie let out a small squeal and turned to face an unfamiliar man. His eyes were a light, piercing blue. They were undoubtedly unnatural.

"Let me go," Elsie stammered. "Please. My family and friends will know I'm gone. We can work something out."

"They won't find you where you're going," he said with a grin. "Too bad you didn't stay with Naomi, she was going to make sure you got home safe and sound. Enjoy the trip."

A blinding white light appeared and Elsie felt a searing hot pain on her arm. She tried to let out a scream but it caught in her throat as she grew dizzy and faded into black.

...

"Ow... shit," Elsie croaked as her eyes flickered open. Her head was pounding so hard she thought she might bleed from her ears. She sat up gingerly and examined her arm. A huge, red hand print shaped burn was on it "Holy crap..." she whispered. It was definitely a third degree burn and it hurt like a mother fucker.

"Where the fuck am I?" she wondered aloud as her eyes scanned the room. It looked like she was in a supply closet of some sort. She stood up slowly and grimaced. Whatever that guy did to her, her body wasn't reacting well. She felt her limbs weighed a hundred pounds each and her muscles burned. She grabbed a rag from the closet and peeked her head out. No one. She took a step out and found a big pack of unopened water bottles. She opened one and poured it on her wound, cringing and biting back tears as it burned. She bit her lip and looked around. It looked like she was in a convenience store. She found rubbing alcohol and bandages and walked into the dingy, abandoned bathroom. She wet the rag with the alcohol and took a bracing breath before slowly pressing it to the wound. It stung so badly she almost dropped her supplies.

She continued despite the pain, thankful for her first aid training. After she was satisfied with her handiwork, she bandaged up her arm. Her face was sweating and tears left mascara runs down her cheeks and her hair looked like hell. She cleaned herself up the best she could in the bathroom before slowly leaving again. She entered the front of the store, which was completely abandoned, and looked out the window.

"What the hell?" she whispered. She was in the middle of nowhere- a desert. A lonely piece of junk car was in front of the derelict gas station. She grabbed a newspaper from the counter. "September...?" It was early May at home. She lived in San Diego, so it was already pretty warm, but it certainly wasn't hot like it was here. She went to the doors and tried to open them- but nothing.

"Fuck," she cursed. It was a deadbolt. She couldn't open it without a key. She ran a hand through her auburn waves and looked around from something to break the windows open with. Unfortunately, she didn't find many options. Everything was too light. Maybe the cash register... She forced it open and pulled the cash out and put it in her wallet. She felt a small twinge of guilt but pushed it aside. She was attacked. She needed to survive. She began to pick up the register when she heard some footsteps outside. She ducked behind the counter and grabbed an empty wine bottle. Not her first choice, but a crate full of them was there. She suspected an employee had a bit of a problem.

She held her breath as she heard the window smash. She crouched, ready to jump up if needed with her makeshift weapon ready. She peeked around the counter and could barely hold back her scream when she saw who was there. Dean. Fucking. Winchester. And this wasn't a dream, the mind numbing pain on her arm was proof of that. She must have been hallucinating. Something. Anything.

"Who's back there?" he asked in a loud and intimidating voice. She tried not to let out a fearful squeak.

"I'm Elsie," she said quietly. "And I'm really lost right now." She slowly stood, her knees shaking and she looked at him more closely. He looked really bad, she had to admit. His lips were cracked and dry, his shirt and face were smudged with dirt and his pants had rips on them. A flannel was tied around his waist and sweat glistened on his forehead and left marks down the sides of his shirt at his pits.

"Where am I? Do you work here?"

"No, and I have no idea. Illinois somewhere, look," she said, pointing to the newspaper.

"September? Shit," he said.

"Here." She held a bottle of water to him, which he took and drank eagerly. "You should eat too, you look awful."

"Thanks," he answered, grabbing some candy.

"Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so. Who are you, anyways? How did I get here?" his eyes burned into hers threateningly. She could tell he was thinking it was her that brought him here.

"Elsie," she repeated. "And I'm guessing you walked, because I don't see another car out there." She was almost numb. She was so confused.

"Listen, sister," he said. "Elsie. Whatever. You're the only person around for miles. I'm not buying the whole lost girl crap. How did I get here? Why am I not dog food?"

"I really don't understand..." she said, beginning to feel dizzy. "Seriously, I just woke up here, but last I checked it was my birthday in May and now it's September and I'm not in California." She pushed her bangs out of her face and stepped back and leaned on the counter, deep in thought. "I'm still not fully convinced I'm not sleeping, even though my arm hurts like hell."

"Your arm?"

"Yeah, I have a nasty burn on my arm, no idea how I got it."

"Like this?" He pulled back the sleeve on his t-shirt to reveal an identical but less severe burn mark.

"Exactly..." she took a careful step forward and examined it from afar. "Do you need to clean it up? I used some bandages and rubbing alcohol on mine, it's in the bathroom."

"I'm good. Alright, well whatever this is, you're a part of it, so you're coming with me."

"Going with you where? No offense, but that really doesn't seem like it would be good for my health judging on how you look."

"To see my brother. And you're going, like it or not. You and these hand prints are the only clues I have. Come on." He turned to grab some more supplies and leave when suddenly the TV flicked on and showed static. "Damn," he cursed quietly. "Demons. Quick, take this, salt the doors and windows!" He threw her a kosher salt container and quickly went to work. She stood in stunned silence for a second and clumsily began doing the same when she suddenly heard a dull ringing and the ground began to shake. Dean began yelling and fell to the ground, clutching his ears in pain.

"What's going on?" she asked, nervous. She heard talking over the static and ringing but couldn't make out any words, and it wasn't nearly loud enough to make her react as violently as Dean was. The windows began to shatter, a shard whizzed past her face and cut her cheek. She ducked behind the counter again to protect herself from further damage as the shelves began to teeter dangerously and spilled their contents on the ground. Soon enough the rumbling passed and Dean stood tenderly, careful not to cut himself on the glass.

"Dean? A-are you alright?" she stammered. "What was that? What did you hear?"

"You didn't hear that? Are you crazy?! Come on, let's just get out of here before it comes back." He grabbed her wrist roughly and pulled her out the huge space where the door was and led her to the car. "Hmm..."

He took a good look at the car and quickly smashed open the window and unlocked the doors. He popped the trunk.

"Load up while I get the car started." Elsie nodded numbly and went back inside the building and took a huge breath of relief.

"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell," she muttered to herself quietly as she began to pace. "What the hell?!"

"Hey!" he heard Dean call from outside. She bit her bottom lip and took a bracing breath before filling her basket with water, salt and food. She went back out to him and placed most of what she gathered in the trunk but kept a bit to keep in the car to use while driving."Have any cash?" he asked. Elsie nodded again and handed him her wallet. She literally couldn't think anymore. She was more than content with handing it over and hyperventilating in the passenger seat until she woke up or snapped back into reality.

"Take what you need, I don't think any of that stuff is applicable anymore."

He raised a questioning eyebrow but didn't protest and buckled himself into the car.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she slid in next to him.

"To find a phone booth."


	2. Chapter 2: Brothers Reunited

"You should have blocked," Bobby said to Elsie as he handed her a beer. "Or dodged. Or anything really, not just standing there with a stupid look on your face."

"I panicked, okay?" she replied, taking an uncharacteristically large drink from the bottle. She returned to bandaging her arm which was freshly cut by a silver knife. "I don't fight."

"Clearly," he answered gruffly. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said back with a weak smile. "No permanent damage." She did hurt even worse now, though. Bobby sure could throw a punch.

"So what's your name? Elsie?" She nodded. "And you woke up in the same area as Dean with that hand on your arm?"

"Yeah, sounds about right. Something weird happened, though... I mean, the whole thing was weird, but-" She was interrupted by Dean entering the room loudly, polishing an old gun.

"What was weird?" he asked, sitting across from her.

"That noise you heard. The one I didn't hear."

"You seriously didn't hear that?"

"I heard a little ringing and some talking but I couldn't make anything out. It wasn't nearly as loud as it seemed to be for you, the damn windows blew out even. But no, I didn't hear anything else."

"Have you heard of anything like that, Bobby?" Dean asked.

"No. A banshee might be able to scream like that, but she would have heard it too. I think whatever it was that what got you out of hell made that sound."

"I don't think it was a demon either, no way they'd be that powerful... Well... maybe..." she added thoughtfully. Dean gave her a weird look.

"You don't know how to dodge a punch but you know about demons?"

"Not much," she admitted. "I've... read a bit on them." She hoped she sounded convincing. She's never been much of a liar, but she thought keeping the whole TV show alternate universe thing secret would be the safest bet until she figured out what was going on.

"Well did you read anything on something that can do this?" he asked impatiently.

"Angels?" she suggested without thinking. It was her prediction for a while. Sam had mentioned angels a lot in the last season and she suspected it was foreshadowing and would make a great twist. Oh wait. Real life, now. Shit.

"Angels don't exist," Dean dismissed instantly.

"You don't know that, darkness cannot exist without light. Without evil there is no good. There can't be one without the other, it's a balance thing."

"Thanks, Socrates. Really helpful." She resisted the temptation to stick her tongue out at him childishly. People teased her about her love of philosophy quite often, but she didn't think that was very philosophical. She supposed it would be for a hunter, though. They act, they don't think. At least not about the nature of good and evil.

"It's just something to consider," she murmured into her beer bottle before taking another long drink. She never liked the taste of beer, but she figured she'd have to get used to it. She foresaw a lot more alcohol in her future.

"My guess is Sam made a deal," Bobby said.

"It's what I would do," Dean added. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

"I'm still not totally sold on the idea they could do it, deal or no deal," she said.

"What else could it be?" Bobby asked. Elsie shrugged and shrunk back. She felt like every time she spoke a bunch of stupidity tumbled out her mouth.

Dean cleared his throat and stood, checking the time. "We should go find Sam now. Bobby, have you heard from him?"

"Haven't heard from him in months," he answered.

"Dammit, Bobby! Why didn't you look after him?"

"I tried! Your death was really hard on both of us. He took off, stopped answering his calls. I tried."

"Does he have a GPS on his phone?" Elsie chimed in. She felt awkward sitting there. She felt like she was intruding on a deeply personal moment. In fact, the entire was her intrusion on Sam and Dean's lives. She might as well have been standing there when Jessica died, been in the car accident with John and the boys, seen Sam shoot Madison after falling in love for the first time after Jess. She shivered and felt a little nauseous. It was wrong.

"Yeah, was about to do that." He and Bobby left the room to make the call and left Elsie there feeling even more uncomfortable. Not knowing what to do, she finished off her beer and waited, fighting the tears forming in her eyes,

...

She waited outside by the elevator this time. She didn't want to get her ass kicked by Sam, too. A dark haired girl, scantily clad, left Sam's room and Bobby and Dean entered. The girl looked at Elsie with piercing eyes and she could have sworn she felt a cold chill from her gaze. A shiver went down her spine and she stepped aside so the girl could leave, all the while she was glaring daggers. Something wasn't right with her. Before she could think too hard about it, Dean's head was in the hall and he was waving her over.

"Elsie, come on, he won't hit you."

"Alright," she said with a smile and walked over quickly, trying to hide the goosebumps on her arms and the fear in her voice and barely managing not to trip over her own feet. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically. She didn't know where she was, if any of it was real, where her family was, anything. It was all too much to handle. And she was still in a lot of pain. She took deep breaths and entered the room.

"So if you didn't make a deal, how did I get out?" Dean asked, continuing his prior conversation. "I doubt they did it out of the kindness of their hearts." Sam shrugged.

"I think I know someone that can help. I have a psychic friend, Pamela," Bobby suggested.

"I'm sold. Come on, Sammy," Dean said. Sam rolled his eyes at the name, but Elsie could see how happy he was to hear Dean call him that again. She imagined what it must have been like for him, trying to cope without his brother. He must have searched for ages for a way to get him out. Her thoughts briefly drifted towards the odd woman she saw leaving when she was pulled out of her thoughts by Dean.

"Elsie? This is Sam. Sam, this is Elsie. She's connected to all of this somehow. I don't really know. She doesn't talk much." Elsie felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"Well, seeing as you just got back from Hell and all I didn't want to interrupt you. And frankly, you scare me."

Sam chuckled and offered his hand, which she gratefully took and shook.

"So you just woke up by his grave too?"

"No," she said. "I was in a gas station. It was the weirdest thing. It was my birthday, and then..." she trailed off. She didn't want to give too much away. "Then I woke up in the middle of nowhere four months later, apparently. It was May when I last remember."

"Is anyone in your family hunters? Do you have any idea why you'd be put there?" Elsie shook her head.

"No. I've done some reading and I suppose I'm familiar with hunters... I didn't know any of it was real, though. Kind of a shock." She shivered. Kind of was an understatement.

"Hm. Well, maybe Pamela will know. Just uh... Dean, let me get my stuff together and I'll meet you all at the car. It'll just take a second, I'm basically packed already. Here's the keys." Sam tossed them to Dean who grinned and looked like he would almost kiss them.

"I'm back, baby!" he gushed with a grin before turning to leave the room. "Elsie, come on."

"Ah... alright." She didn't want to protest. She was quite excited to see the Impala and she felt lame for it, but man. When she saw the iconic black Impala she cracked a genuine smile. It looked exactly the way she imagined and Dean's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He opened the door and slid in, caressing the steering wheel and laughing in an almost victorious way.

"Wait... what is this? SAMMY!" Elsie jumped at the sudden yell.

"It's an iPod jack," Sam said as he walked towards the Impala with his packed bags.

"I said you could drive her, I didn't say you could douche her up!"

"I thought it was my car, okay? Sorry." He tossed his bags into the trunk and sighed when Dean ripped the jack from the stereo and tossed it into the back seat.

"I'm so sorry baby, I'm back now."

"I'm going to check out now then. Elsie?"

"Yeah?" Every time somebody said her name it nearly made her jump. It sounded so out of place to her.

"Are you going with us or Bobby?"

"I don't know, whichever is most convenient. I don't want to get in anyone's way."

"You're not in the way at all. We can help each other. Don't be so shy."

"Well, your brother basically kidnapped me when he found me, so I've been trying to avoid pissing him off. He's... intense."

"He's harmless," Sam said with a smile. "There is just a lot going on, obviously. He doesn't always think of how he treats other people but he means well."

Elsie nodded. "I know. I can tell he's a good person. I don't want to cause more problems than he already has, you know?"

"Don't worry about it," Sam said. "Just speak up for yourself if you need, or he'll walk all over you." Elsie nodded and smiled.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I'm fine, though. I'm just going to wait it out until we learn something new. Oh, and Dean has my wallet. I don't think he looked in it but I have a card that gives discounts at Chevron, so when you need to stop for gas keep that in mind. There's a bunch of cash in there too, I robbed the gas station. Never thought I'd say that in my life."

Sam laughed and said, "Alright, I'll let him know. You should go ask Dean or Bobby where you're riding while I check out." The man working at the hotel appeared at the desk and smiled, indicating he was ready to work. Elsie nodded and walked back to the Impala.

"Elsie, do you mind riding with Bobby?" Dean called out the window. Elsie shook her head and smiled.

"Not at all. Ah, looks like he's ready to go. I'll meet you there." She waved goodbye and walked over to Bobby's car where he was waiting for her.

"Alright, kid, ready?" Elsie nodded.

"Yep," she said brightly. Talking with Sam really cheered her up a lot. "Ready to go!"

Bobby's car took off while Dean waited in the Impala. He turned his head to watch them drive off and sighed.

"Alright, let's go," Sam said as he sat in the passenger seat. "I'm eager to hear what Bobby's psychic has to say."

"Did you talk to her?"

"Elsie?"

"Yeah, did you?"

"I did, why?"

"Did anything seem weird to you?"

"No, not at all. She seems nice. Why, what's up?"

"Well... when I met her, she knew my name. And I never told it to her."


	3. Chapter 3: Blinded by the Light

"Jesse Forever?" Dean asked with a smirk as Pamela Barnes, the raven haired psychic bent over to pick something up.

"It wasn't forever," she chuckled before standing again and winking. The whole time they had been there she was flirting heavily with Dean and even threw some comments Sam's way. Elsie had to hold back giggles because she couldn't help but to think about Dean saying, "Don't objectify me!" He liked it, though. She could tell he was clearly attracted to her. Sam, however, looked a little uncomfortable.

"So what's the plan? How are we doing this?" Sam asked.

"I know a spell to force it to show me his face," Pam answered as she covered a small table with a cloth. "Everyone sit in a circle. I need to touch something our mystery monster touched, too." Dean offered his arm to her. Elsie sat between Sam and Bobby. She was relieved Pam didn't ask to touch her too. It would be a disaster if she somehow found out the other world thing from whatever grabbed her. Whoever grabbed her, that is. The stranger's face popped into her mind again, his piercing blue eyes made her hands begin to shake.

"You okay?" Sam asked her.

"Yeah, fine. Just nervous." Everyone joined hands and Pam began to chant. The table shook slightly and a breeze entered the room and it suddenly became cold. Elsie squeezed her eyes shut and tried to relax and focused on her breathing.

"No, sorry Castiel, I don't scare easy," Pam said before continuing to chant with greater intensity. The table shook harder and lights began to flicker violently. Waves of nausea and dizziness started to hit Elsie and she couldn't help but to squeeze Sam and Bobby's hands.

"Maybe we should stop," Bobby warned.

"No, I almost got it!" Pam said as she continued to command the being to show her his face. Elsie's heart was pounding painfully in her chest and when her fear and anxiety hit a crescendo the shaking stopped and Pam fell to the ground screaming in agony.

"Pam? Pam!"

Bloody holes replaced the spot where her eyes used to be.

"I can't see...I can't see..." Pam was shaking. Castiel, whatever he was, burned out her eyes because she looked at him. What could possibly do that? She reacted quickly, getting water and bandages to clean her up and get her ready to go to the hospital.

"You're going to be okay, Pam," she murmured to her as she helped her up as the boys got the car ready.

"I'll take her to the ICU," Bobby said. "You guys figure out what to do."

...

"Be up in a jiff," the waitress said to Dean with a wink as she walked up. Elsie was sitting quietly next to him, waiting for Sam to come back with news on Pam.

"Yeah... you bet. Alright. See you later," Sam said into the phone as he walked back to their table and sat.

"What'd Bobby say?" Dean asked.

"Pam's stable. And out of I.C.U."

"And blind, because of us," Elsie said with a sigh.

"And we still have no clue who we're dealing with," Sam added.

"That's not entirely true," Dean said.

"No?"

"We got a name. Castiel, or whatever. With the right mumbo-jumbo we could summon him, bring him right to us."

"You're crazy. Absolutely not," Sam said sternly.

"We'll work him over. I mean, after what he did?"

"Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull, and you want to have a face to face? We still don't know what to do with Elsie either, from what I heard she let Bobby nearly kill her, I don't think meeting this Castiel would be a good idea for her right now."

"I concur," Elsie chimed in with an upraised hand.

"She'll have to face him eventually. And you got a better idea? I can't sit here and do nothing,"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. I followed some demons to town, right?"

"Okay?"

"So, we go find them. Someone's gotta know something about something."

"Here we go, 3 pieces of pies for you all," the waitress said as she approached the table and placed the plates in front of each individual.

"Thanks," Sam said to her with a smile. Instead of leaving, she pulled up a chair and sat in it, folding her arms and smiling.

"You angling for a tip?" Dean asked with an amused smirk.

"I'm sorry. Thought you were looking for us," the waitress said. Her eyes went demon black for a moment. A cop at the counter looked over at them and his eyes were black too. He went and locked the front door and stood in front of it with arms crossed. They were alone.

"Dean. To hell and back. Aren't you a lucky duck," the woman said with a grin. "And look, you boys brought a friend. What's your name, sweetie?" She leaned forward and tucked a lock of Elsie's hair behind her ear. "You're certainly not from around here, are you?"

"Don't touch me," Elsie murmured as she slapped her hand away.

"Leave her out of this," Dean said in a loud voice. Shivers went up and down Elsie's spine. She felt the eyes of the demon at the door burning into her and she suddenly felt naked and vulnerable.

"So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me. What makes you so special?" she asked, returning her attention to Dean.

"I like to think it's because of my perky nipples. I don't know. Wasn't my doing, I don't know who pulled me out."

"Right. You don't," she replied with a roll of her eyes.

"No. I don't."

"Lying's a sin, you know."

"I'm not lying. But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me," he paused to look at her name tag. "Flo..."

"Mind your tone with me, boy. I'll drag you back to hell myself."

Sam, who had been staring daggers began to stand to attack, pushing Elsie behind him. Dean pushed Sam aside and continued.

"No, you won't."

Sam settled back into his seat but his eyes didn't leave the demon woman for a second. He looked like a cat about to pounce at any moment.

"No?"

"No. Because if you were you would have done it already. Fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. And you're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers. Well, maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit. Or, uh, Godzilla. Or some big bad boss demon. I'm guessing at your pay grade that they don't tell you squat. Because whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a lot stronger than you. So go ahead. Send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep with some Vaseline and a fire hose."

"I'm going to reach down your throat and rip out your lungs," the demon threatened, her voice low.

Dean leaned forward with a smirk as if challenging her. He slapped her hard across her face. Elsie could see the demon showing extreme restraint, nearly fuming. Dean hit her again. Nothing.

"That's what I thought. Let's go, Sam, Elsie." The group stood but the demon remained seated and the demon guarding the door moved aside to let them out.

"Here, for the pie," Dean said. He pulled out a roll of cash and tossed a ten at the table as an obvious insult. He grabbed Elsie's wrist and pulled her out to the car with Sam following close behind.

"What the hell was that," Sam hissed. "We should have attacked them."

"No, we only have one demon knife between the two of us. Plus her," he said, looking at Elsie. "She'd be in the way." Ouch. That hurt. It was true, but it hurt. "Let's just get a room at a motel and we'll figure out a plan."

"I realize I'm absolutely useless in a fight but we can't just leave them," Elsie said. "They might not be a threat to you but there are other people involved, too. Like the people they're possessing, for one. Or anyone else that gets in their way."

"It would be suicide, and we're no use to anyone dead;"

"I've handled a lot more than that lately," Sam began to argue.

"No. We're not discussing this." He got into the Impala and started it up. "So get in." Sam scowled, clearly not approving of his decision, but said nothing and got into the car.

"Fine. Let's go."

Elsie slid into the back seat and folded her arms. She thought of all the people that could potentially be affected by the demons they left and sighed. She watched the diner begin to disappear in the distance as they drove away and Elsie made a silent promise to herself.

Never again. She was never going to be useless again.


End file.
